Welcome to the Little Readers Big Change Initiative!
Join us in centering marginalized voices and creators, providing free books and literacy tools to little readers, and celebrating storytelling as a powerful tool for change.

Support Our Emergency Fund
Support Our Emergency Fund

How It Started

Founded by author, activist, and publisher Rebekah Borucki in 2020, the Little Readers Big Change Initiative was born out of a desire to make children's books more inclusive, diverse, and supportive of children's mental health.

Our earliest programs offered free literary tools, virtual workshops, and books to under-resourced schools and communities. Since then, we have expanded our program to address a whole-community approach.

Founder Rebekah Borucki visits a Baltimore City elementary school and gives out more than 300 free books to students.

The Mission

The Wheat Penny Press Little Readers Big Change Initiative is dedicated to providing free and affordable books, enriching programming, and financial support for individual creatives, businesses, and organizations in vulnerable communities and economic brackets.

We envision a world where every child sees themselves reflected in the stories they read, recognizes their power to shape the world around them, and thrives in schools and neighborhoods that celebrate their voice, identity, and limitless potential.
3% Cover the Fee

Your financial gift is 100% tax-deductible. Please consult your accounting professional for details.

Literary and Creative Programming

  • We distribute books and critical literacy resources to under-resourced schools and libraries nationwide.

  • An annual workshop for young writers (ages 9-14) to engage with industry experts, develop their writing skills, and get paid to contribute to A Little Writers Big Change Anthology, a hardcover collection of works by our workshop participants.

  • Publishing support and book coaching for marginalized authors.

  • Financial support campaigns for Black-owned independent bookstores.

  • Micro-grants for Black and Brown creators in various media (poetry, visual arts, animation, etc.).

    • Emergency mutual aid for creators

    • Free books and programming for schools and libraries

    • Book fair grants so every student can take home a book

    • Fiscal sponsorship for grassroots, community-led orgs and programs

The Impact

Through strategic partnerships with both local and national organizations, we amplify our reach and expand the impact of our work. These collaborations allow us to bring our resources to a wider audience and ensure that the opportunities we offer create meaningful, lasting change.

We believe big change often starts small- a spark of inspiration, a new perspective gained from a small setback, a bump in the road that leads to a bold new idea. That's why we focus on initiatives that may appear modest but have the power to drive significant, positive transformation.

This commitment to small-scale, high-impact efforts is at the heart of our mission: to build a society where creativity and knowledge thrive, where individuals are empowered, and communities are enriched.

Since our founding in 2020, we have:

  • Donated over 20,000 books to schools and organizations

  • Hosted writing workshops for elementary and middle school students

  • Partnered with community groups to create free book fairs and local literacy-focused events

  • Raised funds and provided support for Black-woman-owned bookstores across the country

  • Provided micro-grants ranging from $250 to $2500 to community organizations offering mutual aid, the arts, and educational events in their local areas

Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative
Save Black-Owned Independent Booksellers: A Microgrant Initiative
from $25.00

Note to our village: Our first emergency fundraiser for a Black woman-owned bookshop was a huge success. The community rallied, and we kept her business open. Let’s keep it going! The “Save Black Indies” fund is now an ongoing effort that is continuing to provide emergency microgrants of up to $2500 to Black-owned booksellers past the initial need during the global pandemic. It is now supporting the economic recovery that followed and future needs as Black-owned businesses remain under attack.

Representation matters. Representation of Black and brown characters in children's literature is important for ALL children. That’s why Wheat Penny Press publishes books about us for every child.

And representation of Black and brown women's leadership in the children's book industry (publishers, editors, illustrators, shop owners) is just as important to our collective future. When the most marginalized among us win, we all have more opportunities for success.

Emergency help is needed. That's why I'm asking you to dig deep and support Black-owned independent booksellers.

It's up to all of us to make sure independent book shops continue to thrive during these extraordinarily hard times.

If Black booksellers, publishers, illustrators, and authors can't do their good work in the world, what do our choices become? Where does that leave our kids? What happens to the wealth of knowledge we ALL need to be and do better in the future?

Give with confidence. The WPP Little Readers Big Change Initiative is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity, and your gift is 100% tax deductible.

Donate 'Raising Trans Kids' to Families in Need and Protect Our Children's Futures Donate 'Raising Trans Kids' to Families in Need and Protect Our Children's Futures Donate 'Raising Trans Kids' to Families in Need and Protect Our Children's Futures Donate 'Raising Trans Kids' to Families in Need and Protect Our Children's Futures Donate 'Raising Trans Kids' to Families in Need and Protect Our Children's Futures Donate 'Raising Trans Kids' to Families in Need and Protect Our Children's Futures Donate 'Raising Trans Kids' to Families in Need and Protect Our Children's Futures
Donate 'Raising Trans Kids' to Families in Need and Protect Our Children's Futures
from $25.00

Protecting Trans Kids and Their Families is More Urgent Than Ever

In the face of anti-trans legislation, families are struggling to find the resources and support they need to advocate for their children. Raising Trans Kids: What To Expect When You Weren't Expecting This empowers parents and caregivers with tools to navigate these challenges, ensuring trans kids can thrive in environments where they feel seen, valued, and supported.

Your tax-deductible contribution directly supports public service initiatives to educate and uplift families, schools, and communities, creating safer spaces for trans youth.

How Your Support Makes a Difference

Your donation fuels initiatives that:

  1. Empower Families: We donate copies ofRaising Trans Kids to families in states with anti-trans legislation, equipping parents with practical strategies to advocate for their child’s rights, health, and education.

  2. Educate Communities: By distributing books to schools, libraries, and community organizations, we provide critical information to educators and allies who want to create affirming spaces for trans youth.

  3. Build Advocacy Networks: Donations help fund book tour events in hostile states, bringing parents and caregivers together for workshops and discussions that strengthen their advocacy skills and community connections.

The Ultimate Goal: Protect and Support Trans Kids

When parents and communities are equipped with knowledge, they can challenge harmful policies, advocate for gender-affirming care, and create environments where trans kids feel safe to be themselves. Every book donated has the potential to ripple outward, influencing teachers, caregivers, and entire communities to embrace acceptance and inclusion.

Your Impact

  • Donate $25 to stand with us and support this campaign.

  • Give $100 to equip a school or library with multiple copies to educate students, staff, and parents.

  • A gift of $500 funds a workshop or community event, empowering dozens of families and allies.

  • Every dollar amount—big or small—directly impacts the safety, well-being, and future of trans kids by creating informed, supportive families and communities. To gift a custom amount, email programs@littlereadersbigchange.org, and we’d be happy to assist you.

Donate today and join us in building a world where every trans child is celebrated for their authentic self. Together, we can make a difference—one family, one book, and one community at a time.

Note: Thank you to all who have donated and made this campaign a huge success! Our efforts are ongoing and your donation will continue to fund free books for those caring for trans kids. Please note that gifts made after September 30, 2025, may also contribute to the WPP Little Readers Big Change general fund. Our general fund pays for free books, literacy tools, and author visits to schools throughout the United States, as well as microgrants to indie booksellers and Black and brown creators. As always, your gift is 100% tax-deductible.

We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators
We're Raising $$$ to Fund Emerging BIPOC Authors and Creators
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Note: Your gift is 100% tax-deductible.

Thankfully, the landscape of publishing is becoming more diverse. Still, the reality is that Black and brown authors make up a tiny percentage of those receiving book contracts or making decisions on which books get published. And there is a noticeable inequity in the number of opportunities in other media.

Roughly 80% of publishing—authors and illustrators, editors, executives, marketers, and reviewers—is white. Even as the number of diverse books increases substantially, the number of books written by people of color still has not kept pace. In 2017, Black, Latinx, and Native authors combined wrote just 7% of new children's books published.

We're asking you to help us change that by joining our #BrownBooksAreLit campaign.

Two of Row House’s and Wheat Penny Press's five core commitments are [1] supporting and nurturing emerging authors, artists, and other creative voices based on their talent, not the size of their platform, and [2] publishing books featuring diverse characters written by authors with diverse identities.

In keeping with those commitments, we have created the #BrownBooksAreLit campaign to acquire and fully fund the publication of books and other media (animation, 'zines, etc.) by emerging BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) authors and creatives, and to support free community-facing events in neighborhoods with under-resourced schools. But we need your help to make that happen.

Why is this fund necessary?

Emerging creatives don't necessarily have the platforms, networks, or funds to get noticed. So, through your generosity and the gifts of other donors, we'll hold open submissions (no agents necessary!) and give authors and creators of color a chance to make their dreams come true.

This campaign is about so much more than publishing exciting work. This is an opportunity for a marginalized creator to launch their career and receive mentoring from industry professionals. In addition to having their books and projects produced, each creator will receive the help of professional editors, illustrators, coaches for marketing and platform building, and other professionals who will advance their efforts.

Your contribution will also fund fun and educational community events where families and children will have access to authors, free books and resources, workshops, and more tools to promote literacy and learning.

And there are more benefits to giving.

100% of your donation to our funding body, the WPP Little Readers Big Change Initiative, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, is 100% tax-deductible. So you can give with confidence.

Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund Little Readers Emergency Fund
Little Readers Emergency Fund
from $25.00

Note: Your gift is 100% tax-deductible.

Since Wheat Penny Press, our partner publisher released Zara’s Big Messy Day in 2020, our mission has been to provide real access to mental wellness and literacy tools to the most precious members of our communities.

Our earliest programs offered free literary tools, virtual workshops, and books to under-resourced K12 schools and communities. Since then, we have expanded our program to address a whole-community approach.

As you probably know from the 24-hour bad news cycle, many nonprofits are facing sudden financial hardship due to attacks on DEI initiatives and market instability. Little Readers Big Change is no exception.

Little Readers Big Change—a grassroots-funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit for literacy and justice—has donated thousands of books to schools, funded school book fairs and writing workshops, and provided microgrants to Black-owned bookstores and marginalized creators.

And now, magnifying Black and Brown creators and providing free literacy programming is more necessary than ever!

We have launched a fundraiser to raise $30,000—enough to fund six months of basic programming. This gives us the safety net we need to regroup, re-strategize, and recover lost funding streams.

Would you join us in keeping our critical mission alive?

All options support our general programs fund, which provides free literacy learning tools, books, special events, and community org collaborations. Here are several examples of how your monthly or one-time gift can be put to use:

  • Free books and literacy programming for underfunded K–12 schools

  • Microgrants to Black-owned bookstores

  • Emergency mutual aid for marginalized authors

  • Book fair funding so every child takes home a book

  • Writing workshops and creative support for overlooked voices

We need you to say YES to building a more equitable future. Whether you’re supporting marginalized authors through Aspire, #SaveBlackIndies, or our free literacy programs—your gift sustains it all. 

Your support says: “These stories matter. These communities matter.”

Little Readers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which means your gift is 100% tax deductible. Every dollar brings us closer to a future where all readers and creators belong.

A Little Writers Anthology A Little Writers Anthology
A Little Writers Anthology
$25.00

In October 2020, when grade school children everywhere were missing their classrooms and their friends, we at the Little Readers Big Change Initiative wanted to do something to brighten their days (and exercise their brains).

So we invited young writers (ages 9 – 14) to participate in an enriching and groundbreaking live, online workshop series presented by independent children’s publisher Wheat Penny Press. The 6-part series culminated in the opportunity for every child to submit their story to A Little Writers Anthology!

This beautifully bound 160-page hardcover first edition of A Little Writers Anthology boasts 22 original stories by the Little Writers, writing prompts, and ten full-page illustrations by Jillian Ailsa.

Each book is wrapped in forest green paper with gold foil stamped printing. It measures 5”x7”, perfect for tucking in a nightstand for bedtime reading.

100% of proceeds from this edition will benefit the next Little Writers Big Change workshop and anthology. Missed the first workshop? You can still participate and learn more here.

Little Writers Postcards (Set of 10 Different Art Cards)
Little Writers Postcards (Set of 10 Different Art Cards)
$15.00

Tiny art to decorate your reading and writing spaces, or a lovely way to send a note to a fellow bookish friend!

This set of ten (10) 4X6 postcards features illustrations by Jillian Ailsa created exclusively for A Little Writers Anthology (February 2023, Wheat Penny Press). The reverse side of each postcard is printed with spaces for a note, mailing address, and postage stamp.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of these postcards benefit the WPP Little Readers Big Change Initiative and its Little Writers Big Change programs.